On the Road to Finding You
by sistergrimm97
Summary: This is also on deviantArt! Contest entry for the Percabeth reunion contest on dA, my version of Annabeth and Percy's reunion in the Mark of Athena. :3 I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BUT THE PLOT IDEA. :P T for slight gore


_**Percy's POV**_

My arms still wrapped around Hazel and Frank, I watched as the _Argo II _became more and more detailed, the fog around it pushed away as it neared our docks. It was painted with extravagant gold colours for rails and deep colour stain as the bottom. The front gleamed, and my jaw went slack at the sight of the dragon head.

How long had they worked on this boat, just to come and unite the two camps? How long had Annabeth searched for me, looking as frantic as she had in my dreams? _Annabeth. _She was on the boat, I was sure of it. There was no way anyone could keep her from coming, and I smiled to myself at the thought of seeing her again, after almost eight months apart. This reunion – it wasn't just going to be seeing my old friends and Clarisse, who was more of a frenemy. It was about bringing Wise Girl back to me, and that was all I really wanted right now. I was done fighting monsters; I had been doing that way too often these past four days. I wanted some time with my girlfriend, for Gods' sakes.

Hazel and Frank, for their parts, looked much more relaxed than the rest of the Roman campers. The young daughter of Pluto – sorry, Hades – was looking over at the Chinese Canadian, a smirk running across her dark features. She swung her hips into mine and I let go of the two of them, stumbling backwards a few paces. Confused, I stared at the two of them who were doubling over with laughter. Frank wiped his face as though trying to get rid of a stray tear. Hazel, calming down and reduced to giggles, looked at me with twinkling eyes, her hand clasping Frank's as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Come on, Percy," she said, her voice filled with excitement, "let's go reunite you with your Annabeth." Winking, she and Frank began walking a few steps behind me as I fast walked to the dock. I stopped in my tracks.

Grey clouds were forming atop of the warship, emitting noises not unlike the sounds of a bear's growl. A gust of wind hit Camp Jupiter, and I looked around me in shock. Reyna was trying to hold her hair down, staring at the storm with narrowed eyes, her mouth set in a grim straight line. Octavian had a smirk on his face, as if to say _See, nothing good will come out of this! _I wanted to punch him in the face and make him the destroyed stuffed animal.

Frank and Hazel were clutching each other, their eyes wide and anxious. Frank looked at me, and we were both thinking the same thing.

"Percy, those aren't more monsters, are they?" Hazel yelled above the howling winds, and I found myself unable to tear my eyes away from the _Argo II. _Nodding my head, I uncapped Riptide and took a defensive stance, ready to fight.

"Those are _venti, _Hazel; storm spirits. How did they –"

I was interrupted by a high pitched screech like trains braking on their tracks. My eyes widened, and I watched in horrifying desperation as dozens upon dozens of griffins began to attack the boat, their claws tearing apart the railings. A torrent of arrows from the warship embedded them into one of the mythical creatures, and it roared in pain. It retreated before coming back with friends. A flash of blonde hair streaking on the top deck made me sprint towards a dinghy boat moored at the dock. Grabbing the paddles, I began rowing furiously towards the _Argo II, _barely paying attention when my two quest mates jumped on the boat before it left. Many other Romans shook themselves out of their original shock and began grabbing the small boats too, orders ringing through the air. A feminine scream broke through them, and I went rigid.

Annabeth was up there, and they were outnumbered.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Annabeth's POV<strong>_

I always knew I was going to die by the hands of a monster someday; I just hadn't expected it to be on a flying ship in a Roman camp I hadn't known existed without my boyfriend by my side. Fun, right?

I dodged a _ventus _and slammed the hilt of my sword into its stomach, watching in satisfaction as it dissolved into dust, its remains quite literally flying through the wind. I smirked for a moment, swinging the weapon around in an overdramatic twist, daring anyone to come near me. A tearing sound was muttered amidst the battles, and I found myself screaming in pain and clutching my shoulder in agony. Tears sprung to my eyes, and I blinked them away, furious with myself for letting my guard down so easily; there was still a battle to be fought, whether I liked it or not.

Turning around, I faced the griffin, its front claws coated in blood; _my _blood. I growled in frustration, grabbing at my sword. Spots danced before my eyes, and I struggled to remain conscious, cursing the beast for injuring my sword-holding arm. Picking it up with the other side, I found my blocks weak and counterattacks awkward as I fought for myself against the griffin.

How had we gotten ourselves into this position? How had the beasts broken through the barrier of the Roman camp, the one I had felt the moment we had passed through it? I was all too aware of its aura of peaceful violence, how one thing that shouldn't be there was to die instantly. It was the same sensation I felt back at Camp Half-Blood; a feeling of security for those who needed it. Percy had obviously felt that way when he came into the camp, or had he felt something more, like how we shouldn't be here either?

Eight months; I had been searching frantically for eight months for the Seaweed Brain, following even the slimmest clues and leads on him. I had pulled all-nighters, gotten beat up multiple times by mortals and monsters alike and spent hours trying to find something, _anything _to find him. No such luck. I drove myself out of my mind worrying on whether or not he was okay, and if he remembered me or not. Worse, I was distraught by the thought of Piper and Jason; what if Percy had found someone else at this camp? What if he had fallen in love, and when we boarded, he would look at me like, _You were nothing like _her.

With my mind distracted, the griffin seized its opportunity and threw my sword into the water, and I counted six seconds before it hit the water; a long, painful drop was I to fall in. Had I not been in reach of certain death, I would've marveled at the creature's undeniable beauty, how his beak gleamed in the faint strip of sunlight, each and every feather on its body intricate and unique. Its wingspan was easily twenty feet wide, and the claws on its long legs were sharp and tinted red. Its golden eyes fixed upon me, and when it opened its mouth, rather than let out the call to attack, it spoke to me in pure English.

"A daughter of Athena…" He – it was definitely a he – mused, his voice deep and throaty. "You're the one we need to destroy. You're the one everyone wants dead. Annabeth Chase." I looked at him in shock; since when did the enemy see _me _as a threat?

"How did you know my name?" I demanded, my voice coming out weak and strangled. I imagined how I must look; sleepless eyes, bruises and cuts up and down my arm from my encounters trying to find Percy, blood dripping onto the floor from my deep cut. My hair was flying in torrents around my face, messing with my vision and tangled from the fights. I probably looked about as scary as a five year old holding a My Little Pony. Next to the griffin, _venti _appeared on either side of him, six in all. I was screwed.

"I've been told by my patron that you are to be our first kill on this little… voyage." He sounded amused, and had he had a real mouth, I was sure there'd be a demonic smile plastered on his face. He took a step forward, and I mirrored him, hitting my hip against the rail. I chanced a quick look down the side of the _Argo II, _not liking my chances of survival if I needed to jump. Of course, as the Fates would have it, I didn't need to; a griffin did it for me.

They were closing in on me, and I tried to sidestep the swipe from one of the wings; unfortunately, it caught my knee, and I felt it dislocate almost immediately. I screamed, falling against the metal protective bars and looking away. What I saw made me wonder whether or not I was being toyed with by the Mist.

A tall figure was running towards me, hands stuffed in his pockets as he fumbled for something, finally pulling out a pen and uncapping it. Immediately, it turned into a sword, and I was sure my attackers would be screwed. My brain was foggy from the pain, my mind not quite putting two and two together as my tears blurred all the details the kid was sure to have. It was a guy for sure, I could tell from his body structure.

I was sure he would save me, until my shoulders were encased in another griffin's talons, throwing me off the boat.

"_Annabeth!"_

I reached out, my scream snatched by the wind as I saw the figure jump the railing and freefall to save me, his arms at his side to gain speed. Too late he reached me, for I slammed against the water, my back arching and my mouth opening to shout out in pain. It was quickly filled with water, and I spat it out, struggling to get out of the water. Something tugged at the bottom of my foot, and I opened my eyelids, the murky water tingeing my surroundings a dull green.

My foot was caught underneath a piece of the _Argo II_'s railing, my foot bent just far enough backwards to make struggling impossible without snapping my foot. I tried reaching down to pick it off of me, but a wave of dizziness struck my skull as my wounds received another dose of saltwater.

_So this is what dying feels like, _I thought to myself as everything seemed to go a shade darker. I tried to hold in my air, but I had to inhale. In that instant, fear racked my body; I was really going to die down here, that boy who came after me would find me dead, and, and…

And I'd never see Percy again.

As unconsciousness swept over me, I was vaguely aware of arms encircling my waist, a blast unleashing my foot, and the inhuman speed at which the two of us were traveling towards the surface.

* * *

><p>"Annabeth! Annabeth, please, wake up! Oh gods, please!"<p>

My eyes flew open, and I found myself taking breath after breath of fresh air, my mind on red alert as I took in my predicament.

We were on a deserted beach, a steady rainfall rippling in the water. The _Argo II _was much farther away than I thought, though I could see a battle still raged on. Luckily for us, the Roman camp had come to our aid, or the warship would've been alight with flames by now. It felt wrong to be so safe here while they fought for unity. Of course, that blemish in my eyesight was a complete contrast to the boy in front of me.

Shaggy black hair, sea green eyes, a look of pure relief on his features as he realized I was okay. A single strand of gray stood out in his hair, and I almost began to cry at who I was seeing. Everything was there; the Camp Half-Blood beads, the dimple he had gotten from his mother, the way his lips formed as he said my name. I stared at him, tears streaming down my cheeks freely.

"Percy." Ignoring the pain, I flung my arms around him and cried into his shoulder, letting him wrap his arms around my waist and pull me close, his own tears – or was that rain? – dripping onto my back.

The sand was red, my wounds were enflamed from the salt water, and I was soaked in the cold. But I had my boyfriend back, the one boy who knew me better than anyone else, and I didn't care how bad I looked.

Finally, he pulled back, and studied me closely. His eyes widened, his face horrified. I looked down at myself and saw my wounds through my boyfriend's eyes. I was, to put it lightly, covered from neck to ankle in my own blood, gashes and tears in my clothes and flesh. I looked back to Percy, whose lower chin was trembling.

"Oh gods, Annabeth!" He cried out, his hands fumbling for something to patch my wounds. "This is all my fault, if I had just gotten there a little earlier none of this would've –!"

I pressed my lips to his, keeping my arms down as I threw all the pent up desperation, loss and hurt, as well as love I had felt over the last eight months into it. He grabbed my biceps, and we stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, the rain falling down on our heads and the wound on my heart patching itself up.

* * *

><p><strong>Heehee, I felt like mixing it up a bit and this just Hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. Yes, I am that much of a bawss. ;))) Tell me what ya think! :)<strong>


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